German publisher Axel Springer says digital drives profits

9th May 2012, 0 comments

German publisher Axel Springer said on Wednesday its digital media activities and international newspapers and magazines pushed its profits up in the first quarter and underlined a strong 2012 outlook.

Springer, which publishes Europe's top-selling daily Bild, said net profit jumped 8.8 percent to 68.5 million euros ($88.9 million) in the first three months of the year while sales rose 7.1 percent to 789 million euros.

"The strong profitability of national print media and a significant earnings improvement of digital media led to a 7.5 percent increase" in pre-tax earnings to 136.5 million euros, the company said in a statement.

Chief executive Mathias Doepfner said digital activities now make up more than half of the company's total advertising revenues and one-third of the operating result.

He noted that acquisitions including British online recruiting firm Totaljobs.com had contributed to growth.

The company said that based on the results, it expected a single-digit percentage gain in annual turnover, with a "slight" increase in pre-tax profits.